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Here’s where things stand on Tuesday 17 June 2025:
- Blasts rock Tehran and air raid sirens go off in Tel Aviv as Israel and Iran exchange missile and drone attacks for a fifth day.
- The Israeli military claims killing Iran’s wartime chief of staff after Iranian media say preparations under way for what they call the largest and most intense missile attack on Israeli soil.
- US President Donald Trump issues a warning on social media, urging all residents of Tehran to flee and saying that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would not escalate hostilities, but would “end the conflict”.
- The death toll from Israel’s attacks on Iran has risen to more than 220, including 70 women and children. More than 20 people have been killed in Iranian attacks on Israel.
- Meanwhile, Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 55,432 people and wounded 128,923, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the October 7 attacks, and more than 200 were taken captive.
(10:30) Three people pulled alive from rubble in Tehran
Iranian media are reporting that the three people were rescued from the rubble of a residential building that was struck by the Israeli military.
The IRNA news agency published footage of the Red Crescent rescue operation, but did not provide further details.
(10:20) Spanish foreign minister urges a return to talks
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares says he sees no indication of de-escalation between Israel and Iran and is urging a return to “negotiation on the nuclear file”.
“Let’s stop this exchange of missiles,” he said on Bloomberg TV.
(10:10) ‘Fanning the flames’: China warns US against escalating Iran-Israel conflict
China has accused Trump of “pouring oil” on the mounting conflict between Iran and Israel, after the US leader warned Tehran residents to “immediately evacuate”.
“Fanning the flames, pouring oil, making threats and mounting pressure will not help to promote the de-escalation of the situation, but will only intensify and widen the conflict,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said when asked about Trump’s remarks at a regular news conference.
(10:00) Japan explores evacuation plans for nationals in Iran
The Japanese government is looking into “various options” to evacuate Japanese citizens from Israel and Iran, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters.
Earlier, India’s Foreign Ministry said Indian students in Tehran are being moved out of the city as a result of the Israeli strikes.
(09:55) Iran announces new wave of attacks towards Israel: Report
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say a “more powerful” new wave of missiles has recently been launched towards Israel, according to the official IRNA news agency.
“A new wave of fierce attacks by the armed forces, especially the army’s ground forces, with new and advanced weapons has begun and will intensify in the coming hours,” it quoted Kiomars Heidari, commander of the Army Ground Forces, as saying.
(09:50) Trump ‘may’ send US VP, Middle East envoy to talk with Iran: Report
President Trump is considering sending US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff or Vice President JD Vance to meet with officials in Iran, a news reporter says.
According to a CBS News reporter on board a flight back from Canada with Trump, the deployment of Witkoff or Vance “depends what happens when I get back” to Washington, DC, said the US president.
Trump added he wants a “real end” to the nuclear problem with Iran with Tehran “giving up entirely” on nuclear weapons, the CBS reporter posted on X.
The US leader predicted Israel would not be slowing its attacks on Iran. “You’re going to find out over the next two days. You’re going to find out. Nobody’s slowed up so far,” the CBS journalist quoted Trump as saying on Air Force One.
Trump made the comments during his midnight departure from Canada, where he attended the Group of Seven nations summit on Monday.
(09:40) Iran promises to make quick example of those caught spying for Israel
Iran’s judiciary says prosecutors are preparing to take “firm action” against alleged “spies and mercenaries” working for Israel.
“Those who have been identified in recent days as being involved in espionage have immediately had cases opened against them, and they will be punished for their vile deeds in the shortest possible time,” judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir said in comments carried by the semiofficial Mehr News Agency.
As we previously reported, Iran has already arrested several people with alleged links to Israel’s Mossad spy agency. One man was hanged on Monday for allegedly passing classified and sensitive information “to the enemies of” Iran, according to Mizan Online.
Photos: Aftermath of Iranian attack on central Israel
(09:20) Indian students relocated from Iran over safety concerns
Indian students in Tehran have been moved out of the city because of the Iran-Israel fighting, while others who are “self-sufficient” in terms of transport have been advised to move out too, India’s Foreign Ministry says.
“Separately, some Indians have been facilitated to leave Iran through the border with Armenia,” it said.
The foreign ministry did not detail how many of its citizens have been affected in Iran, where there are around 10,000 Indians, according to government data last year.
The warning came after US President Donald Trump said “everyone” should “immediately” leave the Iranian capital, which is home to nearly 10 million.
(09:10) US bolsters military presence in Middle East amid Israel-Iran conflict
Reporting from Washington, DC, United States
There’s a pretty big presence there and it’s been steadily building.
What we do know is they’ve got two aircraft carrier strike groups. We’ve got the USS Carl Vinson. That’s in the Arabian Sea. And we’ve also got the USS Nimitz.
Now the Nimitz was actually being redeployed from the South China Sea to take over from the USS Carl Vinson. But the decision has been made to keep them both there. It’s probably going to be about a week or so before it arrives.
On top of that, there are three destroyers which are there specifically because they can target missiles in the air.
We also know that there are two dozen refuelling tankers that are being strategically placed all around Europe.
(08:59) Israeli forces kill 45 Palestinians waiting for aid in southern Gaza
At least 45 Palestinians have been killed and dozens wounded by Israeli forces as they waited for aid at the al-Tahlia Roundabout in Khan Younis.
“Emergency, intensive care and operating rooms [at Nasser Medical Complex] are overcrowded with the large number of casualties and deaths,” said the Health Ministry in Gaza.
The latest carnage came at controversial aid sites operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, backed by the United States and Israel, which operate in areas tightly controlled by the Israeli military and that critics have slammed as “human slaughterhouses”.
Volker Turk, the UN’s human rights chief, said on Monday that Israel’s “means and methods of warfare are inflicting horrifying, unconscionable suffering on Palestinians in Gaza”.
More than 20 months of Israeli attacks have killed at least 55,362 Palestinians, including tens of thousands of children, women and elderly people.
(08:55) Three killed in Israeli attack on Iran’s Isfahan
The Iranian Mehr news agency is reporting that an Israeli projectile hit a checkpoint in the city of Kashan in the central province of Isfahan this morning, killing at least three people and wounding four others.
The agency quoted Akbar Salehi, deputy security officer to the governor of Isfahan.
The Tasnim and ISNA news agencies also reported on the deaths, but gave no further details.
As we’ve been reporting, more than 220 people have been killed in Israel’s attacks on Iran, including at least 70 women and children.
(08:50) Iranian missiles strike Tel Aviv, northern Israel
Alarms have sounded in Tel Aviv and in many northern Israeli cities.
There were two direct impacts from those Iranian missiles – one in the Tel Aviv area and one in Herzliya. Israeli reports are describing the missile strike in Herzliya as having targeted a sensitive site.
That is code for something of military or strategic significance. The military censor in Israel has updated and further constrained the limitations of media coverage on missile strikes on Israel. So we have very little information.
Also in the past few minutes, we heard from the Israeli military announcing they killed Iran’s Armed Forces Chief of Staff Ali Shadmani. That is a big announcement, one sure to indicate a road towards further escalation.
This is a fast-moving situation and one that is quite unnerving for anybody who lives in the region. There is just no guessing what will happen next in this deteriorating situation.
(08:40) Blasts over Jerusalem, Tel Aviv after Iran missile warning
Loud booms were heard over Tel Aviv and West Jerusalem after the military warned of incoming Iranian missiles.
The military said in a statement the air force is “operating to intercept and strike where necessary to eliminate the threat”.
About 20 minutes later, the army released another statement saying people were allowed to leave protected spaces in several areas across the country.
Search and rescue teams are operating in several locations where “reports of fallen projectiles were received”, an Israeli police statement said.
“Missiles and shrapnel fell in the Tel Aviv area, causing material damage but no injuries,” it added.
The fire and rescue service said there was an initial report of a “missile strike and fire” in the Dan district, an area surrounding Tel Aviv.
“Around 08:45 [05:45 GMT], numerous calls were received … regarding a missile strike and a fire in the Gush Dan area. Firefighting forces are on their way to the scene,” it said in a statement.
(08:35) Bus in central Israel on fire after Iranian attack: Report
Israel’s Ynet News is reporting that Iranian missiles crashed into four sites in Israel, damaging an eight-storey building in Herzliya and setting an empty bus in the coastal city on fire.
It cited the emergency services as saying that there have been no reports of casualties from this latest missile salvo.
(08:30) Trump’s cabinet is less hawkish. Will that affect his Israel-Iran response?
President Donald Trump has surrounded himself with a cabinet and inner circle that is markedly less hawkish on Iran than during his first term.
But analysts told Al Jazeera it remains unclear whether the composition of Trump’s new cabinet will make a difference when it comes to how the administration responds to the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel.
“I think there are fewer of the traditional Republican hawks in this administration,” said Brian Finucane, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group.
“And you do have more prominent restraint-oriented or restraint-adjacent people. The question is: How loud are they going to be?”
Read the full story here.
(08:16) Israel claims killing top Iranian commander
The Israeli military says it has assassinated the head of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, Ali Shadmani, in an attack on Tehran.
It described Shadmani as Iran’s “most senior military commander” and “the man closest to” Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
There was no immediate comment from Iran.
Shadmani was appointed to the post after Israel assassinated the former commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, Gholam Ali Rashid, on Friday.
(08:10) Smoke rises after explosion in Iran’s Tabriz: Report
Iran’s Mehr news agency says thick smoke has been observed in the northwestern city of Tabriz following an explosion at about 8:45am local time (05:15 GMT).
It published footage of the smoke in a post on the Telegram app.
(08:00) Explosions near Tel Aviv, sirens blare across Israel: Reports
The Ynet News site says there have been explosions in central Israel and reports of damage to a building in the coastal city of Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv.
The Times of Israel is meanwhile reporting “echoes of large explosions” in the Jerusalem area and says sirens are being sounded across the country.
We’ll bring you more information when we have it.
(07:55) Europe’s von der Leyen reiterates G7 stance on crisis
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, has reiterated the G7’s stance on Israel’s conflict with Iran following the bloc’s earlier statement.
“We urge that the resolution of the Iranian crisis leads to a broader de-escalation of hostilities, including a ceasefire in Gaza,” von der Leyen said in a post on X.
“We remain vigilant on the implications on energy markets.”
(07:45) Warning sirens sound across Israel throughout the night
Overnight, there were alarms going off successively and throughout the night.
So Israelis were going in and out shelters pretty much all night.
There were no injuries reported, and we’re not sure where the impact of those missiles was. There were some reports of missiles falling in open areas in the Negev.
But already we are hearing about the impact of all of that – 14,000 applications for compensation have been filed to Israel’s Ministry of Finance from people whose homes have been damaged and 24 buildings are already condemned for demolition.
This, of course, comes as the oil refinery and other refineries have been shut down, especially in Haifa, due to the damage sustained from earlier Iranian missile strikes. The power plant in Haifa as well.
(07:42) Israel sounds alarm over more Iranian missiles
The Israeli military says Iran has fired more missiles towards Israel and that its forces are working to intercept the projectiles.
The announcement came shortly after the military said it shot down 30 drones launched towards Israel overnight.
(07:40) Three killed in Israel strike on Iran state TV
Israel’s air strikes on the headquarters of Iran’s state television in Tehran killed three people, the broadcaster says, a day after the bombing.
“Three of the TV station’s employees were killed and others were wounded in the Israeli attack” on Monday, the channel said.
Live on air, TV anchor Sahar Emami denounced “aggression against the homeland” as a blast went off and smoke and debris filled the screen. The footage then showed her fleeing the studio.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei accused Israel of committing a “wicked act” that constitutes a war crime and being the number one “killer of journalists and media people”.
(07:35) Middle East conflict has not led to loss in oil production, Eni CEO says
Claudio Descalzi, the CEO of the Italian energy company, says OPEC still has spare production capacity.
“We have stock,” Descalzi was quoted as telling the Reuters news agency on the sidelines of the Energy Asia conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
(07:30) Trump says his return to US ‘has nothing to do with a ceasefire’
The US president is denying reports he left the G7 summit early to work on a truce between Israel and Iran.
Attributing the claim to his French counterpart, Trump wrote: “Publicity seeking President Emmanuel Macron, of France, mistakenly said that I left the G7 Summit, in Canada, to go back to D.C. to work on a ‘ceasefire’ between Israel and Iran. Wrong! He has no idea why I am now on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a Cease Fire.”
He said his return was about something “much bigger than that” and added, “Stay Tuned!”
As we’ve been reporting, the US leader earlier issued an ominous warning on his Truth Social platform, saying: “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!”
(07:25) Israeli air force downs drone in north
The Israeli military said it intercepted a drone over the northern Ramat Magshimim area in the south of the occupied Golan Heights.
No details were provided as to where the drone originated or its intended target.
(07:15) Israeli military says Iran fired fewer than 10 missiles overnight: Report
The Times of Israel is citing the Israeli military as saying that fewer than 10 missiles were launched from Iran overnight.
The missiles came in three volleys, targeting central and northern Israel at about midnight local time and at 3:30am and 4:30am, the Times reported. There were no reports of “impacts in urban areas or injuries”, it added.
There was no immediate comment from Iran.
If confirmed, the number would mark a significant drop after three nights in which Iran fired dozens of missiles at Israel, hitting strategic sites and killing at least 24 people.
(07:05) Trump is Netanyahu’s only exit strategy out of war with Iran, analyst says
Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara says Netanyahu is relying on Trump to provide him with an exit strategy from an unwinnable war with Iran.
(07:00) If you’re just joining us
Let’s bring you up to speed:
- US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have left the G7 summit a day early, with the White House citing “developments in the Middle East”.
- French President Emmanuel Macron says the US has made an offer for a truce between Israel and Iran, while US media reports say the White House is seeking a meeting with Iran’s top diplomat to discuss a ceasefire and a nuclear deal.
- This comes as Israel and Iran continued to trade attacks, with smoke seen rising in eastern Tehran following an Israeli strike, and air raid sirens activated in the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa after two separate volleys of Iranian missiles.
- Iranian media say air defences have also been activated over the Natanz nuclear facility, which houses key nuclear installations, and is located in central Iran.
- At least two employees of Iran’s IRIB state broadcaster have been killed in Israel’s attack on its offices in Tehran, according to the official IRNA news agency.
- China and South Korea have advised their citizens to leave Israel and Iran, respectively, while the US says its diplomatic missions in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv will remain closed.
(06:55) Iran speculation rife as Trump returns early to Washington from G7 meeting
The big question now is, what’s going to happen when he gets here? And why is he coming back so urgently?
There are a couple of different scenarios to run through. So, one of them is that he is coming back to announce some kind of peace deal, some kind of ceasefire.
Or the other, that he is coming because the US is either about to launch some kind of strikes or it’s about to extend its cooperation with Israel.
There are reports here that Israel says that the US is planning to join. Those have been unsubstantiated. But it is being reported and when he gets to the White House, we understand that the National Security Council are all going to be joining him in the Situation Room.
Now that is not something that tends to happen – you don’t convene the Security Council in the Situation Room if it’s going to be some kind of big unveiling of a peace deal.
But, of course, we never know what is going to happen with this administration until we know.
(06:45) US Embassy in Israel to remain closed
The US Embassy in Jerusalem said it would remain closed today, and is directing all of its employees and their families to continue to shelter in place in and near their residences until further notice.
The mission said its branch in Tel Aviv will also remain closed.
“The U.S. Embassy is not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel,” it added.
(06:40) Two media workers killed in Israeli attack on Iranian state broadcaster
The official IRNA news agency has identified the victims as Nima Rajabpour and Masoumeh Azimi.
It said that Rajabpour was a news editor and Azimi was an employee of the IRIB broadcaster’s secretariat.
As we’ve been reporting, Israeli forces struck the IRIB compound in Tehran, abruptly ending a live broadcast, after Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz issued a warning, saying: “The Iranian propaganda and incitement mouthpiece is on its way to disappear.”
(06:35) Israel unable to destroy Iran nuclear sites without US involvement: Analyst
Barbara Slavin, distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington, DC, told Al Jazeera earlier that Israel requires US military involvement to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme as it does not have the capability to do so alone.
“The Israelis have not succeeded in achieving what was their announced goal, which was to destroy the Iranian nuclear programme, and they, frankly, cannot do that without United States assistance,” Slavin said.
“So, what we are seeing now is a kind of a push and pull by the Israelis trying to get the United States to step in. Meantime, there are reports that the Iranians are urging an urgent return to diplomacy,” she said.
“I don’t think the president wants the United States to get involved but the Israelis seem quite determined to continue their strikes on Iran, and Iran is retaliating, and I don’t see anyone at this point putting a stop to this,” she added.
“Trump doesn’t seem inclined to stop the Israelis at this point.”
(06:25) Israeli envoy says to expect ‘surprises’ in offensive against Iran
In an interview with Merit TV on Monday, Israel’s ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, referenced last year’s pager attack against Hezbollah while hinting at upcoming military operations against Iran.
“We’ve pulled off a number of surprises – when the dust settles – your going to see some surprises on Thursday night and Friday, that will make the beeper operation almost seem simple,” Leiter said.
Leiter did not elaborate on what “surprises” he was referring to.